Page 22 of Bond Strength

“Again, you could’ve asked.” Declan’s simple acceptance threw me for a loop. How he’d gone from believing he was interested in women to being comfortable with both women and men in such a short span…how did that happen? Oh wait, this was Declan. His self-confidence was something I’d always envied. I remembered the agony of coming out to my parents as gay, mostly because I didn’t want to cause anyone problems. Of course they’d ended up being nothing but supportive.

My heart thumped so damn hard the sound competed with the downpour. “Can I touch you?”

“Where?” he asked. “Be specific.”

Fuck. Without realizing it, he pushed me to speak up. To claim what I wanted.

“I want to kiss down your neck. I want to suck and nip marks all along your chest, taste every dip and crevasse.” Would this scare him away? Kissing a guy was one thing, but my thoughts toward Declan were very, very filthy.

He clutched his knees tight. “Go on.” He stared down, not looking at me, so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Except he’d said to ask, and with Declan, I could do so free of judgment.

“Would you be okay with that?”

He glanced up now, his pupils blown, and licked his lips. “Very. Is there more you wanted to do?”

Declan offered the cue I needed, and I took it. “I want to suck your cock until you’re writhing, until you’re going out of your mind. I’ll drive you to the brink and back again over and over until you’re coming down my throat. And then I want to spread your gorgeous cheeks and lick and suck at your hole.” My entire body heated at the words escaping my lips.

“Don’t I get to do anything to you?” Declan teased. The lightness in his tone struck me square in the chest. He’d heard all that and wasn’t saying no.

Holy shit.

“Anything you want,” I replied, my voice ragged.

Declan shook his head. “Specifics, Noah.”

My mind reeled. “There’s too much I want, but if you’re looking for parameters, I prefer to top. I’ve tried penetrative, but it doesn’t do as much for me.”

Declan grinned, a mischievous lightness in his eyes I hadn’t seen aimed at me in longer than a decade. “See, was that so difficult?”

My cheeks flushed, and I was grateful for the dark right now. Around him? No, and that was what made him unforgettable.

Declan pushed up from his seat and offered a hand, which I took. “I’ve got an electric lantern in my bedroom.”

“Is that a come-on?” I teased.

Declan had started toward his bedroom, but he glanced back at me. “No, it’s a clarification. Obviously, we’re heading there to fuck.”

Those words hung stark in the air, and saliva pooled in my mouth. This had tumbled forward at such a rapid pace I could hardly keep up, but the building blocks had been set between us years ago. Once we’d cleared the rubble we’d left over our friendship for years, it was obvious the foundations had remained intact. The sight of his slender form in front of me, the round curve of his ass, and the reality I’d get to explore his entire canvas with my mouth, hands, and teeth settled inside me. My cock hardened, ready for action.

“You coming?” he asked.

I scrambled to follow him.

“Fuck yes.”

Chapter nine

Declan

Not for the first time since the power went out, I was glad Noah was here with me.

It was a stark contrast to how I’d felt about him entering my house, but I’d had some incorrect data I’d based my entire evaluation of our circumstances on. Life would be far easier if people were clear about their wants and expectations.

However, I wasn’t sad about the direction we were heading.

I switched the electric lantern on in my room, grateful it still operated. The orange beams cast across the darkened space, which grew a little lighter when Noah opened up the curtains.

The moment he’d unearthed his attraction to me, a few things had clicked in my brain, pieces I’d been mulling over for far too long. The electricity that rattled me when we were close, whenever we touched—that had been attraction as well. Because now that everything was exposed, I grew aware of how often I stared at him, how mygaze lingered too long in his direction. How he’d drawn me in with a magnetic pull every time we were in the same space.

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